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Donna Huanca

Chicago, USA. 1980
SKIN PAINTEENS, installation view.

Nitsch Foundation, Vienna, Austria. 2024.

SKIN PAINTEENS, installation view.

Nitsch Foundation, Vienna, Austria. 2024.

SKIN PAINTEENS, installation view.

Nitsch Foundation, Vienna, Austria. 2024.

SKIN PAINTEENS, installation view.

Nitsch Foundation, Vienna, Austria. 2024.

UTOPIC CELLS, installation view.

Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia. 2024. Image by Dasha Trofimova.

UTOPIC CELLS, installation view.

Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia. 2024. Image by Ansis Starks.

UTOPIC CELLS, installation view.

Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia. 2024. Image by Ansis Starks.

UTOPIC CELLS, installation view.

Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia. 2024. Image by Ansis Starks.

UTOPIC CELLS, installation view.

Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia. 2024. Image by Ansis Starks.

UTOPIC CELLS, installation view.

Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia. 2024. Image by Ansis Starks.

SCAR TISSUE (BLURRED EARTH), installation view.

Faurschou, New York, USA. 2023.
Courtesy Faurschou and Peres Projects.
Photo credit: Elsa Kostic.

SCAR TISSUE (BLURRED EARTH), installation view.

Faurschou, New York, USA. 2023.
Courtesy Faurschou and Peres Projects.
Photo credit: Elsa Kostic.

SCAR TISSUE (BLURRED EARTH), installation view.

Faurschou, New York, USA. 2023.
Courtesy Faurschou and Peres Projects.
Photo credit: Elsa Kostic.

SCAR TISSUE (BLURRED EARTH), installation view.

Faurschou, New York, USA. 2023.
Courtesy Faurschou and Peres Projects.
Photo credit: Elsa Kostic.

SCAR TISSUE (BLURRED EARTH), installation view.

Faurschou, New York, USA. 2023.
Courtesy Faurschou and Peres Projects.
Photo credit: Elsa Kostic.

SCAR TISSUE (BLURRED EARTH), installation view.

Faurschou, New York, USA. 2023.
Courtesy Faurschou and Peres Projects.
Photo credit: Elsa Kostic.

SCAR TISSUE (BLURRED EARTH), installation view.

Faurschou, New York, USA. 2023.
Courtesy Faurschou and Peres Projects.
Photo credit: Elsa Kostic.

BLISS POOL, installation view.

Space K, Seoul, South Korea, 2023.
Courtesy of Space K Seoul.
Photo by JunHo Lee.

BLISS POOL, installation view.

Space K, Seoul, South Korea, 2023.
Courtesy of Space K Seoul.
Photo by JunHo Lee.

BLISS POOL, installation view.

Space K, Seoul, South Korea, 2023.
Courtesy of Space K Seoul.
Photo by JunHo Lee.

BLISS POOL, installation view.

Space K, Seoul, South Korea, 2023.
Courtesy of Space K Seoul.
Photo by Onart Studio.

BLISS POOL, installation view.

Space K, Seoul, South Korea, 2023.
Courtesy of Space K Seoul.
Photo by Onart Studio.

OJOS OBSIDIANOS, installation view.

MAZ Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, 2023.

OJOS OBSIDIANOS, installation view.

MAZ Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Jalisco, MExico, 2023.

OJOS OBSIDIANOS, installation view.

MAZ Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Jalisco, MExico, 2023.

OJOS OBSIDIANOS, installation view.

MAZ Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Jalisco, MExico, 2023.

Donna Huanca: MAGMA SLIT, installation view.

The Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, United States, 2022-2023.

Donna Huanca: MAGMA SLIT, installation view.

The Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, United States, 2022-2023.

Donna Huanca: MAGMA SLIT, installation view.

The Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, United States, 2022-2023.

Donna Huanca: MAGMA SLIT, installation view.

The Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, United States, 2022-2023.

Donna Huanca: MAGMA SLIT, installation view.

The Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, United States, 2022-2023.

ARS22: Living Encounters, installation view.

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland, 2022.

ARS22: Living Encounters

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland, 2022.

ARS22: Living Encounters

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland, 2022.

ARS22: Living Encounters

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland, 2022.

Donna Huanca: CUEVA DE COPAL

ARNOLFINI Arts, Bristol, UK, 2022.

Donna Huanca: CUEVA DE COPAL

ARNOLFINI Arts, Bristol, UK, 2022.

Donna Huanca: CUEVA DE COPAL

ARNOLFINI Arts, Bristol, UK, 2022.

Donna Huanca: CUEVA DE COPAL

ARNOLFINI Arts, Bristol, UK, 2022.

Donna Huanca: CUEVA DE COPAL

ARNOLFINI Arts, Bristol, UK. On view until May 22, 2022.

Donna Huanca: CUEVA DE COPAL

ARNOLFINI Arts, Bristol, UK, 2022.

Donna Huanca: CUEVA DE COPAL

ARNOLFINI Arts, Bristol, UK, 2022.

Donna Huanca, LÁGRIMAS SECAS, (installation view)

Travesía Cuatro CDMX, 2022.

Donna Huanca, LÁGRIMAS SECAS, (installation view)

Travesía Cuatro CDMX, 2022.

Donna Huanca, LÁGRIMAS SECAS, (installation view)

Travesía Cuatro CDMX, 2022.

Donna Huanca, LÁGRIMAS SECAS, (installation view)

Travesía Cuatro CDMX, 2022.

Donna Huanca, LÁGRIMAS SECAS, (installation view)

Travesía Cuatro CDMX, 2022.

Donna Huanca, LÁGRIMAS SECAS, (installation view)

Travesía Cuatro CDMX, 2022.

Donna Huanca, LÁGRIMAS SECAS, (installation view)

Travesía Cuatro CDMX, 2022.

Donna Huanca, LÁGRIMAS SECAS, (installation view)

Travesía Cuatro CDMX, 2022.

Espejo Quemada

Ballroom Marfa, Texas, United States, 2021.

Espejo Quemada

Ballroom Marfa, Texas, United States, 2021.

Espejo Quemada

Ballroom Marfa, Texas, United States, 2021.

Espejo Quemada

Ballroom Marfa, Texas, United States, 2021.

Espejo Quemada

Ballroom Marfa, Texas, United States, 2021.

Espejo Quemada

Ballroom Marfa, Texas, United States, 2021.

Espejo Quemada

Ballroom Marfa, Texas, United States, 2021.

Espejo Quemada

Ballroom Marfa, Texas, United States, 2021.

Obsidian Ladder

Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, United States, 2019.

Obsidian Ladder

Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, United States, 2019.

Obsidian Ladder

Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, United States, 2019.

Obsidian Ladder

Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, United States, 2019.

Lengua Llorona

Copenhagen Contemporary, Copenhagen, Denmark. Curated by Aukje Lepoutre Ravn, 2019

Lengua Llorona

Copenhagen Contemporary, Copenhagen, Denmark. Curated by Aukje Lepoutre Ravn, 2019.

Lengua Llorona

Copenhagen Contemporary, Copenhagen, Denmark. Curated by Aukje Lepoutre Ravn, 2019.

Lengua Llorona

Copenhagen Contemporary, Copenhagen, Denmark. Curated by Aukje Lepoutre Ravn, 2019.

Lengua Llorona

Copenhagen Contemporary, Copenhagen, Denmark. Curated by Aukje Lepoutre Ravn, 2019.

Piedra Quemada

Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig, 2018.

Piedra Quemada

Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig, 2018.

Piedra Quemada

Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig, 2018.

Piedra Quemada

Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig, 2018.

Piedra Quemada

Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig, 2018.

Piedra Quemada

Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig, 2018.

Piedra Quemada

Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig, 2018.

Piedra Quemada

Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig, 2018.

Cell Echo

Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China, 2018.

Cell Echo

Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China, 2018.

Cell Echo

Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China, 2018.

Cell Echo

Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China, 2018.

Cell Echo

Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China, 2018.

Cell Echo

Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China, 2018.

Lengua de Bartolina Sisa

Travesía Cuatro, Madrid, Spain, 2017.

Lengua de Bartolina Sisa

Travesía Cuatro, Madrid, Spain, 2017.

Lengua de Bartolina Sisa

Travesía Cuatro, Madrid, Spain, 2017.

Lengua de Bartolina Sisa

Travesía Cuatro, Madrid, Spain, 2017.

Lengua de Bartolina Sisa

Travesía Cuatro, Madrid, Spain, 2017.

Scar Cymbals

Travesía Cuatro, Madrid, Spain, 2017.

Scar Cymbals

Zabludowicz Collection, London, United Kingdom. Curated by Maitreyi Maheshwari, 2016.

Scar Cymbals

Zabludowicz Collection, London, United Kingdom. Curated by Maitreyi Maheshwari, 2016

Poly Styrene's Braces

Art in General, New York in collaboration with kim? Contemporary Art Centre, Riga, Latvia. Curated by Anne Barlow, 2015.

Poly Styrene's Braces

Art in General, New York in collaboration with kim? Contemporary Art Centre, Riga, Latvia. Curated by Anne Barlow, 2015.

Poly Styrene's Braces

Art in General, New York in collaboration with kim? Contemporary Art Centre, Riga, Latvia. Curated by Anne Barlow, 2015.

Sade Room [Formerly Reclusive]

MoMA PS1, New York, United States, 2014.

Sade Room [Formerly Reclusive]

MoMA PS1, New York, United States, 2014.

Sade Room [Formerly Reclusive]

MoMA PS1, New York, United States, 2014.

Sade Room [Formerly Reclusive]

MoMA PS1, New York, United States, 2014.

Bolivian-American artist Donna Huanca creates work that destabilizes the male gaze while exploring femme and indigenous, specifically Andean, narratives and mark-making. Huanca’s installations encompass painting, sculpture, and live performance, and are characteristically created for, and integrated with, the specific architectural spaces in which they are presented. Her art is deeply invested in ritual practice, both drawn from Andean culture and exploring ritual at large as a means for transcendence, meditation, and transformation.

In recent years, Huanca’s work has stood out for its understanding of the body, and of the skin in particular, as a territory where surface and matter converse with architecture, space, and the world. Her performances produce slow-paced choreographies that conjure private rituals and meditations in the gallery space, confronting the viewer with a scenario equal parts uncomfortable and suggestive. The titles of the paintings, through which matter emerges as something between the natural and the artificial, and in which blue predominates over skin tones and earthy colors, allude to different types of rocks, minerals, and natural processes. The totemic sculptures, on the other hand, combine a variety of materials that relate to the body and which stand out for their tactile qualities, such as clothes, skin, silicone body imprints, natural and synthetic textiles, or re-contextualized cultural artifacts.

Donna Huanca completed her education at the University of Houston; Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine; and Städelschule, Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. She has completed several residencies, including at SmackMellon, Brooklyn; Access Gallery, Vancouver, Canada; and Headlands Center for the Arts, San Francisco. Huanca is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship; Art Matters Grant, New York; Francis Greenberg Award, Art OMI, New York; DeGolyer Grant, Dallas Museum of Art; and a 2016 Hirshhorn Artist Honoree.

Recent exhibitions include SCAR TISSUE (BLURD EARTH), Faurschou, New York, USA, 2023;  BLISS POOL, Space K, Seoul, South Corea, 2023; Ojos Obsidianos, MAZ Museo de Arte Zapopan, México; Portal de Plata, Whitechapel Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 2022; Aqua Sabia, Kiasma Museun, Helsinki, Finland; Magma Slit, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, US; Cueva de Copal, Arnolfini Bristol, UK; Obsidian Ladder, curated by Olivia Marciano, Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, United States; Lengua Llorona, Copenhagen Contemporary, Denmark; Piedra Quemada, Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria; Cell Echo, Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China; Lengua de Bartolina Sisa, Travesía Cuatro Madrid, Spain; Jaguar and electric Eels, Julia Stoschek Collection, Berlin, Germany; Scar Cymbals, Zabludowicz Collection, London, United Kingdom; Surrogate Painteen, Peres Project, Berlin, Germany; Ice Chrysocolla, Cabaret der Künstler – Zunfthaus Voltaire, Manifesta 11, Zurich, Switzerland; Poly Styrene’s Braces, curated by Anne Barlow, Art in General, New York, United States; In collaboration with kim?, Contemporary Art Centre, Riga, Latvia and Sade Room (formerly reclusive), Moma PS1, New York, United States.

She is included in numerous international collections: Collections Solomon R. Guggenheim Collection, New York, United States; Zabludowicz Collection, London, United Kingdom; B.LA Foundation, Vienna, Austria; Espacio 1414/Berezdivin Collection, Santurce, Puerto Rico; Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, United States; Rubell Family Collection, Miami, United States; Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing, China; Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China, among others.

Piedra Quemada

2018. Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig.

Piedra Quemada

2018. Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig.

Piedra Quemada, Belvedere
Piedra Quemada, Belvedere
Piedra Quemada

2018. Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Dr. Stella Rollig.

Cell Echo, Yuz Museum
Cell Echo exhibition

2018. Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China.

Cell Echo

2018. Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China.

Cell Echo, Yuz Museum
Cell Echo, Yuz Museum
Lengua de Bartolina Sisa, Travesía Cuatro
Lengua de Bartolina Sisa, Travesía Cuatro
Lengua de Bartolina Sisa, Travesía Cuatro